Amazon this week denied a report that it would display tariff charges on imported goods for sale on its platform after the White House denounced the move as a “hostile and political act.” But other retailers are breaking out the import duties on customer receipts — sometimes causing shock among shoppers.
Amid sweeping tariffs newly imposed by President Trump, including 145% levies on goods made in China, businesses are raising prices on a wide range of products, rather than absorbing the added costs from the steep taxes on imported items. Some are opting to tell consumers exactly why prices are rising by adding tariff surcharges to customers’ bills. Others are simply raising prices across the board.
Political news site Punchbowl on Tuesday reported that Amazon planned to list added costs derived from tariffs next to certain products sold on its site. The e-commerce giant pushed back on the report’s claim, telling CBS News on Tuesday that its Amazon Haul store only “considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products.”
“This was never approved and is not going to happen,” Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle said in statement Tuesday.
Other retailers both big and small are taking the opposite tack and showing customers exactly how much tariffs are adding to product costs.
“This is transparency”
David Warrick, executive vice president of Overhaul, a supply-chain management company, said most businesses can’t absorb tariffs of as high as 145% on goods from China and are passing price hikes onto consumers.
“This is transparency,” he said of some retailers’ decision to display tariff charges on customer receipts.
“Consumers should understand that this is what you’re paying for, and what the cost of trade policy is and how it’s uplifting prices,” he told CBS MoneyWatch. “It’s useful, and a good demonstration of how tariffs are impacting daily spending.”
China-based e-commerce giants Shein and Temu both began listing new prices on their sites this week that reflect the cost of tariffs. Temu is also adding “local” labels to goods shipped from U.S.-based warehouses, indicating they are not subject to import duties on imports from China.
“No import charges for all local warehouse items and no extra charges upon delivery,” the Temu website says of the wide range of goods that are already in the U.S.
Still, that isn’t stopping some Temu shoppers from griping about the heavy new import costs on goods purchased from China, which can be greater than the value of goods themselves. In one Reddit post dedicated to Temu and tariffs, shoppers shared screenshots of the import duties, which were added to their total bills.
According to another shopper, the purchased goods totaled $138.97, while the “import charges” amounted to $117.64. A third customer posted a receipt showing import charges of $60.57 on goods worth $47.52.
Triangl, an online swimwear company, announced that as of April 30, orders from U.S.-based customers will include tariff charges at checkout. On Thursday, a one-piece woman’s swimsuit sold on the site with a retail cost of $119 was subject to tax of $12.35, while shipping costs ran $20. Import duties on the item amounted to $211.11, raising the final price to $362.46.
Ryan Babenzien, CEO of showerhead maker Jolie Skin Co. said in an April post on LinkedIn that the company plans to add a line in customer carts at checkout called the “Trump Liberation Tariff.”
“Technically WE are not raising our prices, but the Tariff will make it more expensive for American consumers to buy a Jolie,” Babenzien said in the post.
Via Seating, a Lake Tahoe, Nevada-based furniture company, is also informing customers about the hit from tariffs. In a statement on its website, the company says that, as of March, a 3% “tariff surcharge” is applied to most orders.
“Due to the latest round of trade tariff impacts, many of our suppliers are raising their prices. While Via Seating has remained unaffected until now, the most recent round of trade policy changes, with no announced end date, are directly impacting our costs,” the statement reads.
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